Teresa Reilly

Networking like a Star!

When people talk about Hollywood, they often widen their eyes and say, “Well, it’s all about who you know.  You know?”  And  that is, actually, completely true.  The very first day I started my theatrical training, the school’s director, a well-respected and successful actress in her own right, sat all of us first year students down and said, “This is your first big break.  The people who will give you your second big break are not us, your teachers, but your new peers who you are sitting next to right now.”  We all gave each other sidelong glances, sizing each other up.  Could that pimply kid next to me really make me a star?  Chances are…yes.

If the entertainment business is all about being in the right place at the right time, who you are with at the time is going to really affect your life.  Maybe that pimply kid on Day One decided he wasn’t going to be an actor at all, but a casting director.  Wow!  Instant in.  Maybe that other kid next to you became a producer, or a director, or got a starring role on Broadway last year and knows a thousand other well-situated people.  Sound crazy?  Well, that’s because it is.  But crazy or not, the truth of the matter boils down to a little rule involving the one-and-only Kevin Bacon: everybody knows somebody.  (If you’re not getting the Kevin reference, it refers to the 6 Degrees of Separation game.)  Which is the heart of networking. Read More

How To Jumpstart Your Career As A Working Actor

So you’ve done it!  You’ve decided you want to be a professional actor.  Congratulations!  Welcome to one of the most exciting, challenging, creative, and crazy industries in existence!  Now, do you want the good news or the bad news first?  Right, here’s the bad news: it’s not easy to be an actor.  You’ve got to juggle auditions, rent jobs, performance schedules, bills, networking events, classes, headshot sessions, headshot reproductions, headshot mailings bla bla bla etc.  The list goes on.  The good news?  Being an actor can be intensely rewarding and immensely fulfilling.  It’s one of the only jobs steeped in rich traditions, requiring far-off travel, a healthy body and mind, a fresh imagination, some street smarts to boot, AND the opportunity to dress up like a 18th century courtesan in the morning and an ER doctor in the afternoon. 

So…where to begin?  Well, first thing to know is the greatest thing about the entertainment business: you can be an actor pretty much anywhere!  If you’re not already busy in your community theater, get into it!  Find out about your closest regional theater (and don’t say you don’t have one, they’re eeeeeverywhere), research their local hiring policies on their website, or see if you can wrangle yourself an audition for their next show.  Or (as I always recommend) produce your own!  Get your friends together and put on the kind of theater YOU want to see.  Theater not your bag?  Or, are you even more than a Triple Threat, and you want to do film and/or television too?  Are you even more determined to push your career as a professional actor forward?  Keep reading… Read More